13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

My favorite orange, but it is an annual, and I'm not sure how it keeps as a cut flower, is calendula.

Geum 'Boris'; Rudbeckia

Thanks! I have begun, again, on a list of zone 6 deer resistant perenials. Too bad about the Tricyrtis.

My tiarella are in planters on my patio. The deer visit the patio to munch a few things and haven't touched the tiarella.

I once blamed the deer for eating my geranium 'Rozanne' so I moved it inside the cottage garden fence. Turns out, it was rabbits eating it.

On my blog you can see my list of plants that have worked in my unfenced deer resistant garden. Deer herds can vary in what they will eat, but this is based on my personal experience. I have had 'deer resistant' labeled plants devoured (such as hibiscus 'Blue Satin' and helianthus angustifolius 'First Light').

In addition to the page that I'm linking to, there is a label on my blog side bar for "deer resistant" so you can read more about the plants.

Hope this is helpful.

Cameron

Here is a link that might be useful: plants that I've tried

Gee, terrene....there is green there, but the plant does not look healthy. I wonder why? I hope you are requesting a new plant or refund from Santa Rosa. You need a new large gorgeous plant!

Thanks PM2, for the 2nd opinion. I thought they were pretty pathetic, and will email them, as the Sedum died over the winter too.

Small plants of Perovskia might be better planted in the Spring in the cold zones. I would not plant a Buddleia in the fall either, not enough time to get well-established for the winter.

I would think this type should be similar.. but that is only if there aren't any other varieties near by to "mess" things up for you. You can always grow them out a bit and see what you get.

Thank you for the input on Kim's Knee High not being a hybrid, but a cultivar off Euchinacea purpurea, gardengal48. Very interesting. I'll let the seedlings grow and see how they turn out. Thanks to all who wrote back with your garden knowledge. I've been gardening for more than 20 years, but seldom leave this website without learning something useful.

Happy summer gardening folks!

if thats the free range weed i have with those colors.. i have found it 2 acres away from momma ....'

i did bring the original 3 inch piece ... i just dont understand how it is getting all over the yard ...

ken

These also break easily. They take root where ever they land.

One thing not mentioned is some plants are called annuals due to their use, rather than their actual life cycle.

By that I mean whether some gardeners will habitually rip up a plant to make way for the upcoming season's blooms rather then letting it keep growing as a non-flowering plant and bloom again next year.

This sort of thing is done in commercial establishments that have landscapers take care of their plant needs thus pansies will appear one day and disappear completely later on. It likely didn't die, but was dug up and thrown out to make way for the new plants even though pansies will live longer than that.

And of course stores would love it if we treated all plants as annuals and bought a new crop every year. To encourage this, many perennial plants are called annuals.

Also provides them some cover as many people are totally unfamiliar with the nature of perennials, and if it's labeled "annual" when it dies they think nothing of it, not realizing it should live for years.

Also climate is a reason.

Many plants can't survive above or below a certain temperature and will die completely including roots, BUT can live for part of a year in inappropriate climate when the weather doesn't exceed either fatal extreme.

Many perennials like this are sold as annuals when they cannot survive the winter of or the summer of a certain climate zone.

I have both "annual" Dianthus (deep pink) - the kind NOT with the still bluish leaves. This came back with no special treatment, and it was in a patio pot. This year it's in the ground and hopefully it will overwinter.

I also have Sweet William in it's second year and finally blooming ;). I am wondering if it will come back next year or reseed, we'll see.

As far as I know, Toto is an annual, so most likely that is not what you have. But other than that, I can't be of much help. I'm supposing you don't have the tag any longer?

I did a quick google search on dwarf perennial rudbeckias and did not get many hits. Even the ones that came up said they grew about 14 inches, so that leaves out your plant! (By the way, I did see a perennial Toto Rustic, so I guess there is a perennial version of Toto - but taller than yours anyway!)

Do yours bloom, and how big are the flowers, and what color?

Dee

All gloriosa daisies are perennial, albeit somewhat short-lived ones. The varieties like 'Toto' that they promote as "annual" are advertised as such because they bloom rapidly from seed and can be grown as annuals. But, they overwinter as well as any other varieties if your climate is conducive.

I would say, yes, the OP probably got one of the dwarf bedding types.

The prices don't look half off to me. Do they discount in the shopping cart?

Deanna

Yes Deanna, as soon as you put something in the cart, it comes up half off.
Remy

I am two years late on this - but mine is also flopping big time (WL).

It IS getting more water this year inadvertently since I started some new plants near it and am watering those until they get established.

So, now that is HAS decidedly flopped all over and is kinda bare in center, and besides that is in BLOOM, one of the few things in my border that is this early...

What to do? Can I cut it was back and will it likely rebloom when it recovers? Or will it go on looking tattered and flopped and I'll have cut off all the good parts for nothing..

I can try rings, but I'd rather trim it once or twice a year if any one has had success with that instead.

And here's a photo for those who asked.

Let me know what you all think!

N

Usually some time in June, I go through the gardens and give many plants a haircut, using a pair of smaller hedge clippers. This includes Helianthus, Solidago, Asters, some phlox, Monarda, etc. Trimming or shearing back works pretty well, and makes the plants bushier and shorter, and delays the bloom somewhat. Nevertheless, there always seems to be a floppy plant here and there and I have to use some supports.

It looks like 'Walker's Low' might be a good candidate for this. I think I have the "Junior Walker", because it only gets about 6-8 inches tall and stays that way. I would like to get the taller one.

I was just thinking today that some of the plants are already ready for a haircut, since everything is about 2-3 weeks ahead this year.

I wouldn't cut them to the ground - not here anyway since we have a shorter growing season than you. I do cut them back anywhere reasonable below the old bloom and get a healthy second flush of flowering. Once established, they're pretty resiliant plants.

I would probably not cut foliage back all the way, as it might weaken the plants to defoliate them like that. Although maybe it would work? Mine always look great with the first flush of blooms, but have never gotten a decent rebloom, whether I sheared it, carefully deadheaded, or left the seedheads on (I actually kinda like the look of the seed heads on some perennial salvia, including this one). Also the foliage always looks ratty by the end of the summer.

It is a durable perennial, because I bought mine in 2005 and they are still going strong. Also the voles haven't touched it, while they decimated the Phlox, Sedum, Echinacea, etc. around them. That is a plus!

Bowles Golden Grass - milium effusum is a gorgeous grass which is quite short but has long delicate flower heads. Blue oat grass (heliotrichon), festuca glauca or stipa tenuissima (in fact there are several smaller stipas such as S.barbata which might work) are all mannerly. Calamagrosis Karl Foerster is a terrific upright grass which will make a narrow clump. For an unreal pale turquoise blue, Elymus magellanicus is a lovely grass (not to be confused with blue lyme grass, Elymus arennarius - a rhizomatous monster). Finally, I grow a small molinia, Edith Dudzsus (purple moor grass) which is a neat, tufted grass which looks delightful with organum and tritoma (My current favourite grass). All of these are well-behaved clump formers with no running roots. Please forgive dodgy spellings.

Thanks!
While on the topic, any lighter colored grasses that will do well in partial sun just outside the dripline of a sentry crimson maple tree (which means only couple feet from base of tree)

Sounds like all good advice here, but I'd like to drop a bit of advice when it comes time to plant your lavender into their permanent places. I've successfully grown the same beautiful lavender plants for the last 10 years in the same place by doing the following:

Don't plant in the shade. They absolutely love full sun and thrive in the heat. I live in zone 7 and seldom water them in summer. Just remember they come from the Mediterranean region of the world: Southern France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, etc. Hot, sunny, and dry.

Plant in very well-drained soil. My husband put in shovel loads of sand into the lavender bed we made. They absolutely HATE wet clay soil, so amend it if that's what you have. Make sure you buy the type of sand to use with plants! I forget what type of sand its called.

Prune them back each spring or you'll have thin, straggly lavender. Cutting them back will encourage really bushy, thick plants that have lots of flower spikes. Heavenly to see and smell!

And you can get a second flush of flowers if you cut off all old flower spikes when they're done. Simply cut off the top six or eight inches and you'll get a second bloom! I use sharp hedge shears.

Watch for spider mites in the heat of summer. Simple spraying every 10 days works.

And last, but not least, they WILL reseed for you. You'll find lots of baby lavender growing around the parent plants when Fall comes around! I grow the variety called Hidcote.

Good luck!

Thats for the good advice, everyone. I have them in small clear plastic cups right now so I will be able to check their root development to a certain extent. I will also start giving them diluted fertilizer and get them outside in a sheltered spot out of the sun.

And yep I have horrible clay soil. I have learned to raise the soil level and amend everything. I think the sand is builders sand if I am not mistaken. I used quite a bit of it not too long ago to help build a raised bed for a work in progress butterfly garden.

Thanks again everyone!